Well, we all knew that this was unlikely to be a “Christmas to remember” or however the song goes, but we did at least hope that we would be able to see family and friends in small groups. Sadly, the latest news about the “uptick” in positive Coronavirus cases with local transmission puts all that in doubt. The RHADC has been diligent about following the rules and this just reinforces that we cannot drop our guard. PLEASE wear your mask at all times unless seated for dinner or seated at a table in the bar area and do please be vigilant about associating with visitors to our island or returning travellers. I imagine this will mean that over the Christmas period we will be quieter than usual as anyone with family coming from overseas will have to stay away from the Club for the required period (which remains at a negative day 4 test for the visitor, but is of course subject to change in accordance with Govt guidelines). This is a small price to pay to have our loved ones come home for Christmas and I just hope that such travel does become a reality in these uncertain times.
One Christmas event that we have had to change slightly is the children’s party on 13th December. As I mentioned last week, unfortunately, Santa is in a high-risk group for Covid, so won’t be able to make all his visits this year. Without Santa there to hand out presents for the children, we thought it would be a nice idea to have the children instead bring presents – and not just the children: all members and staff are invited to participate by bringing an unwrapped gift to the Club by 13th December (donations of wrapping paper are also most welcome) and putting them under one of the Christmas trees. The presents will be distributed by the Family Centre and the Salvation Army to those who might otherwise not receive a Christmas gift this year. In this way, we can make a difference in the community and we thank you for helping.
I am also asking for the help of all members in terms of adherence to rule 10.4: “Guests shall not be admitted into or remain in the Club unless accompanied by the Member introducing them, except insofar as special circumstances apply under the Dock Regulations. But in no circumstances may a guest unaccompanied by a Member enter the Clubhouse or consume alcoholic beverages.”
There have been a few instances recently of groups of guests booking lunch, seemingly with the knowledge and permission of a member, but then coming unaccompanied by the member. This puts us in breach of the liquor licensing laws as well as the Covid emergency regulations and we risk having the Club shut down. We have allowed payment by credit cards in order to facilitate your guests being able to occasionally buy you dinner or a round of drinks, but there was never the intention to allow unaccompanied guests to use the Club facilities. Any unaccompanied guest (who finds him or herself unavoidably without the member present) will only be allowed to charge on a member account and not pay by credit card. It is hoped that this will deter the few aberrant members who seem to have offered blanket permission for others to “use” their membership. Staff will use their discretion and may refuse to seat unaccompanied guests until the host member is present. Please do all you can to help prevent abuses of this Club rule. Thank you!
We are looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner at the Club; in spite of this ghastly year, we do have much to be thankful about and I am looking forward to turkey without having to deal with the carcass afterwards – less work for mother!
Elspeth Weisberg
Commodore
Novemebr 25, 2020